The Best Places to Have Street Food in Los Angeles

by Delores Morris
·
Published December 13, 2019
· Updated February 5, 2020

Street food has a different taste and smell, and people just love it so much. You can find a variety of dishes in street foods, and unlike high-profile restaurants, these foods are not very expensive. Giving an option to the masses. Street foods also bring a variety of cultures together. From Japanese takoyaki to fried shrimp taco of Mexico, you can find anything. So, here are some of the best places in Los Angeles where you can have tasty street food.

1. Dollar Hits

Where: 2422 W. Temple St., Historic Filipino Town

What can you get with a dollar? Not much, maybe an Arizona iced tea or a sad value-menu burger. But, at Dollar Hits, you will get a lot of tasty options. Just visit this amazing place situated in the heart of L.A.’s Historic Filipinotown, and taste the grilled skewers. Just grab a plate for yourself and have as many par-grilled skewers as you want. One grilled skewer costs just $1. Cheap isn’t it?

You will find a lot of choices there like pork ears, chicken feet, chicken liver, pork intestines, etc. Once you have grabbed your choice, go over to the charcoal grill outside the shop to cook your skewers. Then, finally, when it is cooked, enjoy your DIY feast. You can add dipping sauces to your feast to add some flavor. Dollar Hits is open six nights a week, from 5 pm to 11 pm. You can also order fresh cantaloupe juice, which also costs only $1.

2. Mariscos Jalisco

Where: 3040 E. Olympic Blvd., Boyle Heights

Mariscos Jalisco is one of the most famous food trucks in Los Angeles. Order the fried shrimp taco here, that comes with a golden, crisp shell of fried masa which would be molded around velvety minced shrimp. The toppings also include sals and sliced avocado. You can enjoy this delicious dish at just $2.25.

3. Corn Man

Where: 2338 Workman St., Lincoln Heights

The Corn Man is also known by the name of the moniker Timoteo Flor De Nopal. And believe me, it’s nothing less than a royalty. You can find this vendor with his small pushcart outside a city-owned lot in Lincoln Heights every night from 11 pm to 1 am. The Corn Man has been around for more than 30 years.

4. Mae Ting’s Coconut Cakes

Where: 1200 N. Main St., Chinatown

If you are looking for a taste of Bangkok’s extensive street food scene, visit LAX-C. This busy supermarket is situated just outside Chinatown and is also known as the “Thai Costco”. There you will find Mae Ting, who runs a food stall on weekends only. Try her signature saucer-shaped coconut cakes, known as ‘kanom krok’, that attracts the crowd.

5. Takoyaki Tanota

Where: 350 E. 1st St., Little Tokyo

Takoyaki is a dish from Osaka, Japan. Basically, takoyaki is fried dumpling balls that are stuffed with chopped octopus. A flurry of sauces is used to decorate this dish along with toppings such as bonito flakes and dried seaweed. To try this dish, you would need to go to Little Tokyo’s Japanese Village Plaza.

6. Hot Motha Clucker

Where: 4625 Woodman Ave., Sherman Oaks

Chinatown’s famous vendor Howlin’ Ray made Nashville Hot chicken popular all around Los Angeles. And if you don’t want to stand in a queue for fiery cayenne-dusted fried chicken, hot Motha Clucker can be your favorite place. It sets up in the night from 7 pm to 12 am in front of a car wash. It is one of the best chicken-based street operations you can find across the Southland.

7. Me + Crepe

89 E. Green St., Pasadena

There are only a few places where you can find Jiang bing, and ‘Me + Crepe’ is one of those places. This small corner shop is situated in downtown Pasadena and offers tasty stuffed egg crepe, one of China’s most popular breakfast street foods. It is very rare to find this dish in Los Angeles. So, if you are looking for this delicious breakfast meal, visit Me + Crepe.

Final Thoughts

These are some of the best vendors and places that can provide you tastiest street foods in Los Angeles. Street food is slowly gaining popularity in Los Angeles, so before these places get too crowded, go and enjoy the best of the street foods.

Delores is an avid traveler and tries to experience as much as she can. She likes to immerse herself in the culture of the place where she is and find things to do that are not as mainstream. When she isn’t off on an adventure she likes to plan and plot her next trip.

Delores Morris

Delores is an avid traveler and tries to experience as much as she can. She likes to immerse herself in the culture of the place where she is and find things to do that are not as mainstream. When she isn’t off on an adventure she likes to plan and plot her next trip.